Lady Bears beat Armed Forces, 98-70

Nov. 6, 1997

By Elizabeth Harris

Reporter for The Baylor Lariat

The Lady Bears Basketball Team started their season Wednesday with a 98-70 victory over the Armed Forces Team. The first game of the season was an exhibition game held in the Ferrell Special Events Center, thus it will not affect the season record.

The Bears started the scoring and jumped ahead in the game immediately. Once the Bears were ahead 20-8, the Armed Forces were unable to regain momentum. The Bears continued to lead by at least eight points for the entire first half. When the teams headed for the locker rooms at halftime, the Bears were 19 points ahead of the Armed Forces, 53-34.

The Bears came back in the second half well-rested and did not give the Armed Forces any breaks. Although their field goal percentage dropped from 56 percent in the first half to 49 percent in the second, the Bears finished the game on top with a 28-point advantage.

'This was a great way to begin the year,' Head Coach Sonja Hogg said.

The game was very physical and sent one Armed Forces player to the emergency room for stitches and another to replace a tooth that was knocked loose.

'Who would have believed last year that we would come back as such a physical team this year?' Hogg said after the game.

Hogg has exemplified the Lady Bears this season with her dedication to recruiting some of the best players in the country. Her goal -- to fill the bench with fresh legs to rotate in -- has been a success.

'It's great to be in a rotation, coming in and out of the game, and knowing that hot legs are coming in for you,' Lara Webb, junior guard, said.

'It is critical to gain experience in all our players on the floor and being able to rotate them in and out is helpful,' Hogg said.

Webb succeeded in two of her three three-point attempts and six of her ten free throw attempts. Kacy Moffitt, junior post, jumped into play, grabbing four offensive rebounds and three defensive. She also led the Bears in scoring from the field, recording eight points.

'I hope to continue playing and shooting well throughout the season,' Moffitt said. 'Everything I do is for the improvement of the team.'

Hogg was pleased with all the players' performances and said the freshmen made a great first-time show in college basketball. Hogg said the Bears need to work on press offense and free throws. She said they were shooting better free throws during practice all week and was surprised with the missed free throw shots during the game.

The Lady Bears hope to continue winning as they play a second exhibition game next Wednesday. The Bears will play host to the Australian Junior National Team in the Ferrell Special Events Center at 7 p.m.